VTTI to invest RM1bil more in Tanjung Bin oil terminal
VTTI B.V, an equal joint-venture company between MISC Bhd and Vitol Group, will invest another RM1bil or so for the second phase of development of its ATT Tanjung Bin (ATB) oil storage terminal in Tanjung Bin, Johor, The Star reports.
VTTI chairman Datuk Kho Hui Meng said this phase of development would double the capacity to more than 1.6 million cu metres of oil product storage.
“We expect the development of the second phase to be in several stages, with the completion slated for 2016.
“By then, it would be the biggest tank terminal in VTTI's global portfolio,” he told the press after the launching of ATB yesterday. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed officiated the event.
In 2009, MISC partnered VTTI, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vitol and one of the world's biggest energy traders, to develop ATB.
This eventually led to MISC acquiring a 50% stake in VTTI for US$840mil (RM2.55bil) in 2010, transforming it into a global player in the tank terminal business in the process.
MISC president-cum-chief executive officer Datuk Nasarudin Md Idris said at present, VTTI was yet to be a substantial component of MISC's business portfolio relatively in terms of income contribution.
“But it is positively contributing as we recognised 50% of VTTI profit. I think it will be a substantial component in our business portfolio by 2015 when VTTI and ATB expand,” he told StarBiz.
ATB's phase one development, with an 890,000 cu m capacity for the storage of liquid petroleum products such as fuel oil, jet fuel, petrol and diesel, was completed in April 2012.
ATB is the first VTTI terminal in South-East Asia and is able to handle tankers of all sizes, including very large crude carriers.
Located in the Tanjung Bin Petrochemical and Maritime Centre, the master developer of the 912-ha project is Seaport Worldwide Sdn Bhd, a wholIy-owned company of Johor Port.
ATB, said Kho, possessed state-of-the-art facilities and had set a new benchmark in the independent oil terminal industry, especially in terms of turnaround time.
“Fuel oil can be loaded at a rate of 7,500 cu m per hour, middle distillates at 7,000 cu m per hour and light products at 5,000 cu m per hour.
“ATB is equipped with facilities for marine loading, unloading, pumping and pipe transfer of cargo from jetties to tanks, among many other services,” he elaborated.
VTTI, one of the top-five outfits in the niche sector of energy storage, has a network of tank terminals with a gross combined capacity of nearly 8.5 million cu m spanning 12 countries.
MISC's decision to venture into the tank terminal business was motivated by its recurring income stream nature.
This allowed MISC to diversify into an additional source of secured income besides the LNG tanker and offshore business.
MISC made a difficult-but-wise decision to cease its liner operations in late 2011, after the division failed to stay above water due to overcapacity and dwindling demand due to the global economic crisis.
Vitol, incidentally, is one of the world's largest independent energy traders dealing in five million barrels of crude oil and products a day. It was founded in 1966 in Rotterdam.